This invention relates in general to medicine containers having lockable closures, and more particularly, to such containers wherein the lockable closures are both child-resistant (CR) and non-child-resistant (NCR), or easily opened by the elderly.
Due to the potential damaging ramifications of children consuming or having access to medications and other dangerous materials not intended for children's use, certain medications and other substances are packaged in CR containers. There are a multitude of containers available to package such medication and materials. Among these containers is a closure mechanism that requires a user to rotate the cap with respect to the container until two marks (e.g. arrows) align, at which point a finger tab may be moved upward and the cap pried from the container to an open position.
Another type of CR container is a push and turn type and includes a cap having an outer shell and an inner sealing threaded cap. The outer shell freely rotates about the inner sealing retainer until a predetermined downward force is applied by the adult user. The downward force engages the outer shell with the inner threaded cap and must be maintained throughout the opening procedure. The retainer includes conventional threads and once engaged with the outer shell, its rotation by the adult user will open the container.
Still another type of CR container includes a push and turn type that includes a cap having an outer shell and an inner seal. The outer shell includes a skirt having lugs formed thereon. The lugs are adapted to cooperate with a bayonet structure formed on an outer surface of the container. The downward and rotational force on the cap causes the lugs to slide around a cam surface on the bayonets. The lugs then engage a recess on the bayonet to lock the cap to the container.
Although these conventional containers discourage children from gaining access to the medicine or chemicals located within the container while providing fair access to adults, the operations required to open these containers have proven to be very difficult to perform by elderly, disabled, or injured users, or by those otherwise lacking in hand coordination.
A problem with the conventional “push and turn” containers is that during opening, the user must force the cap towards the container body to ensure that the outer skirt remains engaged with the inner retainer, while the cap is rotated away from the container body. This opposing mechanical action required to open the conventional push and turn CR containers can be very uncomfortable to the user and adds to the difficulty and frustration in opening the container.
Owing to the difficulties in opening conventional CR containers, many users may deliberately leave the container open so that they may readily access their medicine in the future. An obvious problem resulting in leaving a medicine container open or effectively open (i.e., disabling any CR lock) is that children also may gain access to the medicine. Such action could also cause degradation of the medication due to moisture or other substances coming into contact with the medication. People may also transfer their medications to other containers for storage. The problem therein is that the medications would be kept separate from their instructions, safety information, and dosage information. Additionally, the medications could be intermixed with other medications. One reason to have NCR containers is for people who have no children that could accidentally access the dangerous substances and might not want to have a CR container when a NCR container would suffice.
Therefore, there recently has been an interest in providing new types of containers for those adults who have difficulty in manipulating conventional CR containers or even regular, NCR containers. For the most part, these “senior-friendly” containers have provisions which allow the elderly (or those otherwise lacking in hand coordination and dexterity) to easily open the container, but unfortunately do not also include CR features to prevent access to the drugs by children. Although there are closure devices having both CR and NCR features, there is a need for improved closure devices and containers, and a method for making them.